Weathercaster Jennifer Broome confirms she’s leaving WOAI

After reports of her upcoming departure wafted my way this week, Broome, the NBC affiliate’s chief meteorologist for nearly nine years, confirmed her upcoming exit. “My last day with WOAI will be in May,” Broome wrote in an e-mail.

It’s not as if the attractive and vivacious Broome hasn’t built both a name for herself and a following. What’s more, Broome broke ground in a sense in 2001, when she became what was -and still is — a rarity: a chief local meteorologist who’s a woman.

Single and in her late 30s, Broome is very dedicated to her job and has never hesitated to put in lots of extra hours during extreme weather. She made sure she was right on top of coverage of hurricanes Katrina and Rita – even when her stint in Louisiana nearly put her in peril.

She’s very trim and athletic and I’m constantly getting mail about her fabulous figure and sunny good looks. She also donates much time and effort to community concerns.

One can only guess her impending departure may have something to do with the station’s long-term sluggish news ratings or maybe it’s still another money-saving tack in this hurting economy.

In fact, these past few years have been marked by quite a few newsroom exits at WOAI, including Tanji Patton’s in late 2007 and those by two news directors.

There’s also the possibility that Broome wanted to try her hand at a new venture. . .which brings me to this newly developed sideline of hers:

Just this week, she sent out a newsletter about her new Web creation, “Swept Away with Jennifer Broome,” which spoke of her recent partnership with Christy Prescott, owner of Corporate Travel Planners and Rennert Travel.

Broome’s site touts trip deals, upcoming celebrity cruises and includes lots of other travel-and-lifestyle articles, such as restaurant reviews and women-oriented getaways.